Sociopathology
by Kusabi Makabe
Summary: Canas, with the help of some of the others, is going on a quest to learn more about the homicidal mind. And who better to study than Karel? Rated T for general Karelness.
1. Night in Badon

DISCLAIMER!

I, Kusabi Makabe, do not own Fire Emblem or any of the characters related to Fire Emblem. These rights belong to Nintendo…this story is mine, however, so if I see anyone ripping it off I shall send my Teddy Bears of Doom to disassemble their computer.

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**Sociopathology**

The inn at Badon was bustling with activity. Anna had been thrilled to see Eliwood and his group return to stay there; the only problem was the immense workload that all those guests created. Canas sat on a bench in the dining area, poring over his latest notes on dragonkin.

"Uncle Canas!"

The druid looked up from his notes, smiling at the approaching figure. "Why, hello Nino," he said warmly. "How are you today?"

Nino collapsed on the seat next to him. "I'm okay," she answered. "Jaffar and I have been getting ready to leave. We're probably going to leave Badon in a few days…" She sighed. "I'm gonna miss everyone. We can come visit you, right?"

"Of course! I'd love to introduce you to my family." Canas took a sip of tea from the flagon. "Have you ever been to Ilia? It's quite beautiful during the autumn season, and you can see some rather unique constellations."

"Wow. I'd like to see those sometime!" Nino said as she looked around the bar. "This place seems different than it was before. It's a lot brighter than it used to be."

Canas nodded. "If I remember correctly, Bartre managed to knock out several of the torches. They've probably just replaced them by now."

"Oh." Nino took a sip from her own mug of cider. "I was thinking maybe Jaffar and I could visit once we get a house and settle down," Nino said. "Do you think its okay for us to come that early?"

Canas shook his head. "I'm afraid I still have a few things to do," he said. "There's something I've wanted to pursue recently, and I've decided to take care of it before I return home…"

"I thought you wanted to get back to your son!"

"Well, I do…but this won't take very long and I'll probably end up back in Ilia before long…besides, I'm sure it would fascinate my wife to hear about what I've learned."

Nino stared at him. "Well, what is it?" she asked.

Canas' grin grew considerably. "It's a new field of research that I've come up with," he began. "I call it 'Sociopathology', although for now it may only be known as 'Karelism'. It's a study of the homicidal mind -"

"Wait! You're going to _study_ Karel?" Nino set her mug down. "Don't you think that's a little…"

Canas shook his head. "It's really not all that dangerous. I've hired someone to help me, and I'll be very careful. And, to be perfectly honest, I don't think Karel would mind anyway."

Nino paused. "Um, actually I was going to say that it seems a little mean…but if you really don't think he'll care, I guess it's okay."

Canas shook his head vehemently. "Of course not! One of the main goals of this research is to prove that people like Karel are capable of being kind to others! Er…well, that's my hypothesis, anyway. I don't intend to make him seem soulless, if that's what you mean."

Nino stood up. "Well, okay. Hey, do you want anything else?"

Canas smiled at her. "No, thank you. I need to get some sleep." He collected his papers and began to walk toward his room. "Goodnight, Nino!" he called back.

Nino grinned. "Goodnight, Uncle Canas!"

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Karel, meanwhile, was sitting on the far side of the room by himself. Two of the regular patrons sat near him, talking in hushed voices.

"Did you hear about Anita?"

"Yeah. James told me that she got attacked by bandits last night. Is she all right?"

"She's fine, thanks to Gerald. Heard he came outta nowhere and took all of 'em on."

"Gerald? The one here in town, or…"

"Actually, he told me it was Gerald Saldon."

Karel's ears perked up.

"Gerald Saldon! I can't believe it!"

"It's true. He showed up an' shot all those damnfool bandits up with his magic."

"Who knew a bishop would be able to take on a whole bandit cluster?"

Karel turned and faced the two men. "Who is this bishop you speak of?" he inquired.

The two men looked at him. "Gerald, Saldon, the Blue Scepter!" one of the men responded. "He and his brothers are the most powerful men around!"

Karel eyes narrowed very slightly.

"Where can I find these brothers?" he asked.

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Thus begins Sociopathology. Please leave a review if you have any comments! I'll try to pump out the next chapter within two weeks (hopefully sooner).

Valete!


	2. The Arena Suite

"I don't get it."

"It's perfectly simple, Legault. I just want you to shadow Karel while he's in that arena. You know, sneak in behind him while he's registering or something."

"And why can't I just watch from the stands?"

"If you do that, you won't be able to see him in the waiting area! I want to know if he's apprehensive before fights or if he's always as self-confident as he appears."

Legault and Canas were standing outside the coliseum, bickering over Canas' current scheme. Several pirates were wandering in and out, along with a few myrmidons and the occasional shaman. A few members of the army had entered as well; Farina had come out looking extremely happy with her 1400 gold, while Raven sulked over his bitter defeat at the hands of a swordmaster.

"Look, Canas," Legault said, "I'm willing to do it, I'd just like a better reason than "to see if he gets nervous'! I mean, we've both saw him before the fight in the water temple…"

Canas smiled. "I'm surprised, Legault. I never knew you had such a scientific mind!"

Legault rolled his eyes. "So what's your point?"

Canas looked over to the arena again. "These fights are one-on-one. It is more intimidating to fight one strong opponent than several weak ones, correct?" He waved at Erk, who was walking through the gateway.

Legault stood up. "Well, whatever. Would it bother you if I just signed up with him? That way I won't have to be hiding all the time."

Canas nodded. "Just make sure you don't get paired against him," he warned.

* * *

The waiting room that Karel had been sent to was very extravagant. Apparently the arena liked to reward its higher bidders such as Karel by making them feel special before they went off to a deathmatch. Legault surveyed the room with great interest, subtly stuffing various trinkets in his cloak. A small Elimine statue, a red gem, a blue gem, a ceremonial dagger… 

"Good morning, Legault!"

The thief spun around and came face-to-face with Matthew, who was grinning mischievously. "Don't take too much more, okay? I want some left for me."

Legault smirked. "Don't worry. It looks like there's plenty to be had." He looked over at Karel again. The Sacaen swordsman had been standing next to a portrait of the famed sage Acrylle, who had mysteriously passed away a few years ago. Legault nodded to Matthew and then walked over near the painting.

Karel noticed him approaching and turned to him. "One of my more recent kills," he said.

Legault blinked. "Uh…"

Karel turned back to the picture. "She was a magnificent warrior," he began, sounding almost reverent. "She used a simple Fire tome, but she could deal incredible damage with it...she was rather inaccurate, however. I was able to dodge all but one of her shots…she had great power, but she could not defeat me."

Legault scratched his nose. "That's interesting," he murmured. He quickly turned away and walked to the other side of the room.

"So much for him being scared…" the thief muttered to himself.

* * *

"Our next combatant is…Regen Berle, the Maroon Wyvern!" 

Canas sat in one of the middle seats, watching eagerly as the Wyvern Lord flew into the ring. Regen seemed strong, yes, but not particularly noteworthy. He was fairly certain that Heath was stronger, and _definitely_ faster.

"And his opponent…Karel, the Sword Demon!"

The crowd cheered as Karel strode onto the stage. The Wyvern Lord gave him a mocking sneer, which Karel ignored. Canas fingered his monocle, a gift from his wife, and began focusing his magic into it. It enlarged slightly, and zoomed in on the fight.

"FIGHT!"

Regen grabbed his iron lance, reared his wyvern back, and flew at Karel, who nimbly stepped between the lance and the wyvern. He thrust his sword up into the rider's arm as he flew by, causing him to cry out in pain and nearly drop his weapon.

Regen turned to face Karel again. "You cur!" he yelled. Canas smiled; the fact that he had made such a pathetic insult clearly meant that he was flustered. He focused his monocle in on the rider's arm; the cut didn't look very deep, but definitely painful.

Regen charged at Karel once again. This time the swordmaster leaned backwards and stabbed at Regen's leg as it passed. The rider cried out once again and began to tilt to his right.

"He's gonna fall!" the man next to Canas yelled.

The man was almost correct; Regen did indeed fall out of his saddle. He managed to barely cling on to the wyvern as it soared through the battleground. Karel followed at a moderate pace, watching his opponent.

Eventually Regen's grip loosened and he fell from his mount. He landed on his stomach; Canas had a feeling that the man had broken several of his ribs and possibly a leg.

"And the winner is…THE SWORD DEMON!"

Karel stepped back inside the building. "What a waste of effort," he said to himself.

* * *

Matthew paced back and forth across the holding area, waiting for his turn to come up. Legault had just taken his turn against a ferocious-looking Berserker; not that Berserkers held any danger to the likes of a thief. He had a feeling that he would end up against one also; what else was there to fight in this town, anyway? 

Karel walked back inside the room and took a seat near the thief. "Matthew."

He turned to face the Sacaen. "Yeah?" he asked, curious. Karel hardly ever talked to the other members of the army; apparently he was in a social mood.

"Do you know anything about a man named Gerald Saldon?"

Matthew paused. "He's a vigilante or something, isn't he? I think I heard someone saying that he and his two brothers keep watch over the towns around this area."

Karel nodded. "Yes, I've heard the same thing. I want to know if you know anything about his fighting style."

Matthew shook his head. "Nope. I mean, I don't live anywhere near here…I've just heard stories about him from the locals."

Karel nodded. "Very well. I'll have to ask someone else." He stood up and left the room.

Matthew stared after him.

"What was that about?"

* * *

Thus begins the true Sociopathology. All hail Canas' Monocular! 

Valete!


	3. Early Departure

How has it been two months?!?! Aargh. Okay, I _will_ update faster next time!

Raine: Don't worry, he means it. Because if he doesn't… (holds staff menacingly over Kusabi's head).

Heheh…anyway, here is Chapter 3! Oh, and thanks to leons-shadow7 for her suggestion regarding The Wife Of The Canas. XD

* * *

Karel had decided to stay in the town of Badon. Canas was having trouble figuring out why; surely the swordmaster had a home to return to, or some sort of new adventure to go on. The people who worked at the inn – Anna in particular – had kept him as up-to-date as they could on Karel's activities, but so far it had basically been predictable.

"He gets up at around five-thirty every morning…" Anna began.

"How odd," Canas interrupted. "I wonder if he is an insomniac? Perhaps I'll have Legault keep track of his sleep cycle…"

Anna blinked. "You're going to ask Legault to watch him while he sleeps?" she asked incredulously. "Isn't that a little…"

"Oh, don't worry; I'm sure it will be perfectly safe. If Karel reacts adversely to it, Legault can always run away."

Anna tugged at a strand of hair. "I was going to say it seems creepy, but okay…

_That's the second time someone's been unnerved by this study_, Cana thought to himself. _Is it really that controversial?_

"He makes himself some breakfast – some mix of herbs and rice, I think; he won't let anyone else make it for him – and then he leaves at six or so for the arena."

Canas nodded and took some notes. "Have you seen him make this dish? Maybe it's a Sacaen breakfast."

Anna shook her head. "He doesn't like people to watch. Apparently it's a big deal to him that nobody else cooks it. He'll eat just about anything for lunch and dinner, though. I was talking to my friend Genevieve who works at the Milk Bucket, and she said that he's come in a few times for their beef."

There was a small creak as the front door opened. Geitz and Dart walked in together, muttering to each other about something. Anna waved at them, and then began to walk off toward the kitchen. "That's about it," she called back to him. "He goes to sleep at midnight and wakes up at five thirty the next day. I don't get how he can function with that little sleep."

Canas added that final bit of information to his notebook before closing it. "Thank you, Anna!" he said, turning around just in time to see Karel entering the inn. The swordmaster glided past the few occupants towards his room.

* * *

Karel walked into his room and sat on the bed, thinking over his plans. He had interrogated several of the arena fighters, and one of them had finally told him where the Saldon brothers lived. Apparently, they had a mansion in the woods nearby, roughly a day's walk from Badon.

"Should I go tomorrow?" he murmured to himself. "Is there a reason to wait longer?" He paused. "Yes, tomorrow is good."

The door suddenly flew open, revealing a certain pink-haired cleric on the other side. "Hi, Matthew!" she called. "It's been such a long day, I…whoa…" Her eyes bugged out as she saw Karel, staring at her with something that might have been amusement. "Why are you in our room?" she demanded.

"This is my room," Karel answered. "Your stay in room fifteen, do you not?"

Serra pushed the door open farther, revealing the numeral 15 scratched into the wood. "Yeah…that's why I came here." She peered around the room. "Have you seen Matthew, by the way?"

Karel barely heard her; he was still staring at the door number. "That's…impossible," he breathed. He stood up and strode out of the room, tuning our Serra's irate yells about how it was rude to ignore girls. He entered his own room, stopping to make sure that the number was correct.

"That was…odd," he muttered.

* * *

"Canas, wake up!" Legault whispered.

The druid's eyes opened as he woke up. "What?"

"Karel's leaving Badon!"

That woke him up immediately. "What?" he exclaimed. "Do you know where he's going?"

Legault shook his head. "I don't know what his destination is, but he just walked out of the inn. We'll have plenty of time to catch up, if you hurry."

Canas stood up and walked over to his pack. "Alright, then! It will be fascinating to study Karel when he's traveling!"

Legault stared dubiously at the small bag Canas had. "How are you going to fit all these books into that _pouch_?" he asked, gesturing at the small library Canas had created in his room.

Canas grinned. "I've created an interesting spell for this exact purpose," he said, his eyes sparkling gleefully. "You see, the spell allows the caster to manipulate the space an object takes without changing its size. It's a bit abstract, but…well, look." He held the bag out to Legault, who looked inside. An entire stack of books had already been put in, and somehow they didn't seem to be taking up any room – as though there was more room on the inside that there was on the outside.

"That's interesting," Legault said. "I'm going to go return our keys, okay?"

"Right," Canas answered. "See if you can get some breakfast for us, too. Something we can eat while we travel."

Legault nodded and ran out of the room…and into a sleepy-looking Serra.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" she snapped. Legault continued past without acknowledging her. She glared at his retreating figure. "Why do people keep IGNORING ME?" she yelled.

Canas poked his head around his door. "Oh, good morning Serra!" he said cheerfully. "How are you today?"

Serra turned toward him, her angry expression abating slightly. "I'm fine," she said. "I just wish people would listen when I talk to them! Why, just last night Karel was in me and Matthew's room, and when I asked him what he was doing there, he walked out without telling me!" She took a deep breath. "Isn't that mean?"

Canas raised his eyebrows. "He was in your room? How unusual."

"I _know!_" Serra yelled. She shook her head and turned back toward her room. "Well, I'm going back to bed."

"Oh. Goodbye, then." Canas said. She turned back around as he reentered his room.

"Huh? Are you leaving?" she asked as she walked into his room.

"Yes, I'm afraid so. Legault and I have to catch up to Karel before he gets too far away." Canas picked up a Restore staff and carefully placed it in his pack. "Of course, he'll probably be going at a leisurely pace, so it shouldn't be too hard…"

"What? Why are you following Karel?"

"Well, you see, I'm doing a study on sociopaths, and Karel is the focal point, if you will."

"You mean like a specimen?" Serra looked at him doubtfully. "Isn't that kind of…"

Canas started to say that it wasn't dangerous, but stopped. Every time someone had started a sentence like that, it hadn't ended with dangerous.

"…weird?" she finished.

Canas cocked his head. "I suppose it could be considered weird, yes, but many of the sciences were considered to be strange when they were started. For example, the first person to surmise that the world was square was widely discredited, but it was proven true."

"I wasn't talking about the science part…Well, I guess this is goodbye, then!" She charged over to Canas and gave him a brief hug. "Make sure you visit Ostia sometime, okay? I wanna show you _everything_!"

Canas laughed as he put his final book into the bag. "I'll be sure to stop by eventually."

* * *

Thus ends chapter 3! I made it extra long to make up for the ridiculous wait time…anyway, I hope you all like it!

Valete!


	4. Validus Dolorstirps

Lute: HE'S ALIIIIIVE!

Yes, yes, I'm writing again. Time to continue the story of Sociopathology! (clears throat)

* * *

Badon Forest was not quite what Legault had expected. He had imagined something similar to the Dread Isle – dark, desolate, possibly infested with bandits. Instead he found it to be remarkably similar to Lyn's stories of Sacae – it was warm, quiet, and there was just enough light to give everything a wonderful radiance. 

And then Canas started talking.

"Look, Legault!" Canas called. "This is the rare _validus dolorstirps_! I have never seen a sample of this plant that hasn't been burned!"

Legault stood over the shaman. "Isn't that poison ivy?"

"That's what it would appear to be, yes. However, you will notice that this particular plant has a purple streak running through its spine." He reached his hand out to the plant and began stroking it in a manner Legault found rather unsettling. "Also, this plant does not grow quite as tall because the powerful toxins inside it corrupt the water it ingests. It is really a fascinating -"

"That's great and everything," Legault interrupted, "but didn't anyone ever tell you that it's a bad idea to touch poison ivy?"

Canas furrowed his brow. "Legault, I just told yOW!" He quickly withdrew his hand and turned the palm to his face. It had turned a bright scarlet, and was quickly swelling.

"Ah, Legault, if you wouldn't mind getting my (ow!) Mend staff out of you supplies, please?" Canas said. "Hmm…I've never seen it…grow to this…size…" His eyes began to grow starry as the assassin rushed over to him.

"Here!" Legault thrust the staff at Canas. "Use this!"

Canas shook his head. "No, no…you need to heal me. Staves don't work on…the user…oh, look, it gave me warts!"

"_What_?" You want me to use a Mend? I've never even touched one before!"

"Well, it's certainly worth a try, Legault. Come on, surely you've always wanted to - oh, my, that can't be good - use magic, right?"

Legault rolled his eyes, and then closed them like Priscilla always did when she healed someone. He felt an odd, rather unpleasant force flowing out of him, and…

"Er…Legault? Maybe you should stop now."

He reopened his eyes and looked at Canas. Canas' hand had not gotten any better; his face, however, had a pained expression that had not been there before.

"Uh…" Legault paused. "Did I do something wrong?"

Canas pointed to where the plant had been before. It had wilted and fallen to pieces in the five seconds Legault's eyes were shut.

"Perhaps you aren't cut out for healing," Canas said.

* * *

Karel stood before the mansion that the Saldon brothers were reported to live in. One of them was outside, digging in the small garden they had. He looked large and powerful, but he showed an odd (though incomplete) grace as he worked. 

Karel stood and watched the man for well over an hour. As the sun began to fall, he heard familiar footsteps approach him from behind. They stopped beside him, joining him in his appraisal.

"What do you think?" he asked.

"I think that he has too much focus to bear axes, but he lacks the finesse that comes from years training by the sword." Karla answered. She turned and looked up at her brother. "Don't you agree?"

Karel nodded. "I've seen the third as well. His skill with the bow is exemplary, but he seems fragile. I almost wonder…"

They stood together, silent, for several minutes longer. Karla finally turned around and began to leave.

"You don't want me to kill them."

Karla froze. Karel stood facing away, but she knew that he watched her, all the same; that there was something he needed her to say.

"I don't," she responded. "Do you?"

She slowly continued back the way she had come.

* * *

"Canas, we really should stop here." 

The two companions had traveled deep into the forest. Night was falling, and Legault couldn't help but wince every time he looked at Canas' misshapen hand.

Canas shook his head. "We need to keep going! Karel has surely reached the Saldon house by now; if we linger here, we'll miss the battle!"

"Canas, your hand is about to fall off! How do you expect it to heal if we keep moving?"

"Oh, it doesn't really hurt. See, I can still move my fingers." Canas held his hand out to Legault and wiggled his fingers feebly. "I'll be fine!"

"We need to rest!"

"But we can't miss this! What if they've already started?"

The bushes rustled. Legault and Canas both turned their heads to see Karla walking towards them.

"They haven't," she said as she walked past.

"Wait…they haven't? What do you mean?" Canas called after her.

She turned back and gave them a small smile. "He won't fight them until the sun is up," she said. "He loves how the light reflects off of spilled blood."

The two men stared after her as she left. Finally, Canas reached into his pouch and pulled out a sheaf of parchment.

"Would you mind writing that down?" he asked.

* * *

-- Notes of the Author -- 

First of all, I'm really back. I won't update super frequently, but I should be updating weekly or bi-weekly now…so this should actually move forward with something that actually resembles speed!

Secondly, "validus dolorstirps" is roughly translated to "strong toxic plant" from the Latin. Of course, it's a little warped in translation.

I hope you enjoyed the next installment of Sociopathology! See you next time!


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